Canada leaf
Home / Innovation Nation/ Past Speakers/ 2022 Speakers

2022 Conference Speakers

Dr. Kirt Costello, is the International Space Station Chief Scientist and the ISS Research Integration Office Deputy Manager. As the chief scientist within the ISS Program, he represents all NASA research on the ISS, and provides recommendations regarding research on the ISS to the ISS Program Manager, ISS Research Integration Office Manager, and to various Mission Directorates at NASA Headquarters.  In this role, he ensures science leadership in the operations of research on the ISS and will lead definition of science needs for the ISS program. 

As RIO Deputy Manager Dr. Costello supports the day-to-day operations and integration work in the RIO office with a special focus on RIO external client relations.

Dr. Costello earned a Ph.D. and an M.S. degree in Space Physics and Astronomy from Rice University and was a double major with a B.S. in Physics and a B.S. in Mathematics from Thomas More College.  Dr. Costello joined NASA in 2000 as an electrical power and thermal control training instructor in the Mission Operations Directorate.  He proceeded to become an ISS Station Training Lead and the group lead for the ISS Daily Operations Group and Plug–in Plan Utilization Officers (PLUTO) before moving into the ISS Program Science Office in 2012.  Since 2015, Dr. Costello had served as the ISS Deputy Chief Scientist and the Program Science Office manager. He has served as the ISS Chief Scientist since 2018. 

Title of Talk: The Decade of Results: Capitalizing on the Investments On the ISS for the Benefit of Humanity.

Tak W. Mak, was one of the first scientists to work on apoptotic mechanisms, initially from an immunological perspective. 

This interest sprang from his early work, which was dedicated to understanding mechanisms of T-cell recognition and development. Indeed, his laboratory was the first to clone the gene encoding the beta chain of the human T-cell receptor (TCR) and among the first to define the function of the immune checkpoint regulator CTLA-4. For his discoveries, Dr. Mak has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and a Foreign Member of the National Academy of Sciences (USA). He has also won many international prizes as well as received a dozen Honorary Doctoral degrees, including from the Karolinska Institute as well as from the Universities of Zurich, Göttingen, Hong Kong and Rome (Tor Vergata). His latest work ranges from defining novel connections between the nervous system and immune cells to exploiting properties unique to cancer cells in such a way as to kill them.

Title of Talk: Scientific Trajectories:  How do you find and solve important problems?   

Qiyin Fang is a professor of Engineering Physics at McMaster University and held the Canada Research Chair in Biophotonics from 2005-2016. Dr. Fang is an elected fellow of the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE).  

Dr. Fang's current research interests include multimodality sensing and imaging technologies for biomedical applications, e.g. optical biopsy, wide-field imaging, endoscopy, microscopy, point-of-care/in-home/wearable sensing systems, and distributed environmental sensing.  Prior to his current position at McMaster, Dr. Fang was a research scientist in the Minimally Invasive Surgical Technology Institute at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. 

Title of Talk: Advanced optical imaging for biomedical applications

John Preston is a faculty member in the Department of Engineering Physics at McMaster University’s Faculty of Engineering and currently serves as the Faculty’s Associate Dean, Research, Innovation and External Relations. As such he oversees the Faculty’s $45M research portfolio. His own research is in the area of nanostructured materials for electronic and optical applications. He has been an Associate of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research in the area of Quantum Materials, has served as a founding member of the Board for the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology and served on the Materials Research Advisory Committee for the TRIUMF National Laboratory. He has represented Canada on numerous technical delegations including those to Germany, UK, Scandinavia, India and China, and has represented Canada on the ISO technical committee on nanotechnology.    

Prof. Preston is a device physicist and a materials scientist who specializes in the application of laser-based manufacturing approaches for novel device applications. Current activities within the Preston group include a new approach for 3D printing of BiTe to produce high efficiency thermoelectric generators and the pulsed laser deposition of solar cells on oxide crystals that can be subsequently lifted off those crystals. 

Dr. Kirt Costello, is the International Space Station Chief Scientist and the ISS Research Integration Office Deputy Manager. As the chief scientist within the ISS Program, he represents all NASA research on the ISS, and provides recommendations regarding research on the ISS to the ISS Program Manager, ISS Research Integration Office Manager, and to various Mission Directorates at NASA Headquarters.  In this role, he ensures science leadership in the operations of research on the ISS and will lead definition of science needs for the ISS program. 

As RIO Deputy Manager Dr. Costello supports the day-to-day operations and integration work in the RIO office with a special focus on RIO external client relations.

Dr. Costello earned a Ph.D. and an M.S. degree in Space Physics and Astronomy from Rice University and was a double major with a B.S. in Physics and a B.S. in Mathematics from Thomas More College.  Dr. Costello joined NASA in 2000 as an electrical power and thermal control training instructor in the Mission Operations Directorate.  He proceeded to become an ISS Station Training Lead and the group lead for the ISS Daily Operations Group and Plug–in Plan Utilization Officers (PLUTO) before moving into the ISS Program Science Office in 2012.  Since 2015, Dr. Costello had served as the ISS Deputy Chief Scientist and the Program Science Office manager. He has served as the ISS Chief Scientist since 2018. 

Title of Talk: The Decade of Results: Capitalizing on the Investments On the ISS for the Benefit of Humanity.

Tak W. Mak, was one of the first scientists to work on apoptotic mechanisms, initially from an immunological perspective. 

This interest sprang from his early work, which was dedicated to understanding mechanisms of T-cell recognition and development. Indeed, his laboratory was the first to clone the gene encoding the beta chain of the human T-cell receptor (TCR) and among the first to define the function of the immune checkpoint regulator CTLA-4. For his discoveries, Dr. Mak has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and a Foreign Member of the National Academy of Sciences (USA). He has also won many international prizes as well as received a dozen Honorary Doctoral degrees, including from the Karolinska Institute as well as from the Universities of Zurich, Göttingen, Hong Kong and Rome (Tor Vergata). His latest work ranges from defining novel connections between the nervous system and immune cells to exploiting properties unique to cancer cells in such a way as to kill them.

Title of Talk: Scientific Trajectories:  How do you find and solve important problems?   

Qiyin Fang is a professor of Engineering Physics at McMaster University and held the Canada Research Chair in Biophotonics from 2005-2016. Dr. Fang is an elected fellow of the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE).  

Dr. Fang's current research interests include multimodality sensing and imaging technologies for biomedical applications, e.g. optical biopsy, wide-field imaging, endoscopy, microscopy, point-of-care/in-home/wearable sensing systems, and distributed environmental sensing.  Prior to his current position at McMaster, Dr. Fang was a research scientist in the Minimally Invasive Surgical Technology Institute at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. 

Title of Talk: Advanced optical imaging for biomedical applications

John Preston is a faculty member in the Department of Engineering Physics at McMaster University’s Faculty of Engineering and currently serves as the Faculty’s Associate Dean, Research, Innovation and External Relations. As such he oversees the Faculty’s $45M research portfolio. His own research is in the area of nanostructured materials for electronic and optical applications. He has been an Associate of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research in the area of Quantum Materials, has served as a founding member of the Board for the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology and served on the Materials Research Advisory Committee for the TRIUMF National Laboratory. He has represented Canada on numerous technical delegations including those to Germany, UK, Scandinavia, India and China, and has represented Canada on the ISO technical committee on nanotechnology.    

Prof. Preston is a device physicist and a materials scientist who specializes in the application of laser-based manufacturing approaches for novel device applications. Current activities within the Preston group include a new approach for 3D printing of BiTe to produce high efficiency thermoelectric generators and the pulsed laser deposition of solar cells on oxide crystals that can be subsequently lifted off those crystals. 

Melissa Farrell is currently the President, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, an academic and research healthcare organization.  St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (SJHH) is committed to making a difference in people’s lives and creating a lasting future for our community through integrated health services and internationally recognized programs. Our threefold mission is to provide dynamic research, revolutionary methods in health sciences education, and the highest standard of clinical care in a spirit of compassion, innovation and commitment.  Melissa is an Assistant Professor (Part-time), Division of Education and Innovation, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University.

 Prior to working at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Melissa had a long and distinguished career largely focused in the public sector and was most recently the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s Hospitals and Emergency Services Division, leading a large and diverse team responsible for delivering on the province’s funding and quality priorities in the pre-hospital, hospital, community care access, and long-term care sectors.

 In addition, Melissa was at a time, the Director of the Primary Health Care Branch with the Ministry’s Negotiations and Accountability Management Division, where she managed over 2,000 primary care provider contracts and supported the development of strategies to further enhance primary care services across the province.

Her abilities to deliver, transform, connect and inspire have been recognized with six ministry Achievement, Commitment and Excellence nominations and awards, and Gold and Amethyst Public Sector Leadership awards from the Institute of Public Administration of Canada.

Melissa was Co-Chair of the inaugural Hospital Advisory Committee, comprised of membership from the ministry, the Ontario Hospital Association and the Local Health Integration Networks and also has sat on the boards of MaRS EXCITE and Health Quality Ontario. She is currently a Board Member of the Ontario Hospital Association.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Philosophy and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning (with a focus on healthcare planning), both from Queen's University. Melissa has completed additional training at the Harvard Business School, Ivy Business School, Rotman School of Management and Ontario Public Service Leadership.

Jason Michaud is an experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and services industry. Skilled in Computer Science, Customer Experience, and Strategic Planning.

Mr. Michaud is a strong business development professional, with passion in entrepreneurship and the business marketing world. Mr. Michaud been the Chief Executive Officer, President, and Founder of Stardust Technologies and Tech Galaxy with over 10 years of entrepreneurship and business development internationally.

Mr. Michaud studied at Collège Boréal in Computer Engineering and is a Certified Practitioner for CyberSecurity Certification (CPCSC) by Watsec Cyber Risk Management.

Mr. Michaud as established multiple international innovation projects with universities and partners cross the world, and has worked in collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency and the National Research Council of Canada on the EDEN project towards creating a solution utilizing virtual reality, neural systems, haptics feedback in Lunar, Martian, and Micro gravity environments to help astronauts cope with their mental health during their time on the International Space Station, space habitats and space exploration.

Mr. Michaud has also been very active in the community of Cochrane Ontario, by being a Director on the Cochrane Board of Trade and Centre de Formation for multiple years. Mr. Michaud has brought the technology, aerospace, and defence industries to his community and is working building economic growth for the region in these sectors.

Dr. Leyla Soleymani received her PhD from University of Toronto in 2010 in Electrical and Computer Engineering and joined McMaster University in 2011.

Dr. Soleymani is currently an Associate Professor in the Departments of Engineering Physics and Biomedical Engineering at McMaster and is a University Scholar and the Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Miniaturized Biomedical Devices.

Dr. Soleymani’s research is focused on developing technologies for rapid disease diagnostics and health monitoring, as well as solutions for reducing the spread of infectious diseases.

Dr. Soleymani was awarded the Ontario Early Researcher Award in 2016, the Engineering Innovation of the Year Award by the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers in 2020, and the grand prize for Tech Brief’s Create the Future Contest in 2020 for her work on biosensors and biointerfaces.

Dr. Soleymani has over 60 high-impact publications and holds several patents in the areas of biosensing and biointerfaces with multiple diagnostics technologies licensed to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Title of talk: Advanced Materials for Improving Healthcare

Richard L. Hughson is the Schlegel Research Chair in Vascular Aging and Brain Health in the Schlegel-University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging, a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and the recipient of the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal. He is the PI of 6 experiments selected for research on ISS. His research is exploring underlying mechanisms for the accelerated “aging-like” changes in the cardiovascular systems of astronauts using tools such as ultrasound investigations and oral glucose tolerance testing in space. Back on Earth, he studies the impact of increased arterial stiffness on brain blood flow and why older persons experience dizziness and increased risk of falling.

Title of talk: Astronaut Cardiovascular Health in Space: Parallels with Aging on Earth

Melissa Farrell is currently the President, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, an academic and research healthcare organization.  St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (SJHH) is committed to making a difference in people’s lives and creating a lasting future for our community through integrated health services and internationally recognized programs. Our threefold mission is to provide dynamic research, revolutionary methods in health sciences education, and the highest standard of clinical care in a spirit of compassion, innovation and commitment.  Melissa is an Assistant Professor (Part-time), Division of Education and Innovation, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University.

 Prior to working at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Melissa had a long and distinguished career largely focused in the public sector and was most recently the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s Hospitals and Emergency Services Division, leading a large and diverse team responsible for delivering on the province’s funding and quality priorities in the pre-hospital, hospital, community care access, and long-term care sectors.

 In addition, Melissa was at a time, the Director of the Primary Health Care Branch with the Ministry’s Negotiations and Accountability Management Division, where she managed over 2,000 primary care provider contracts and supported the development of strategies to further enhance primary care services across the province.

Her abilities to deliver, transform, connect and inspire have been recognized with six ministry Achievement, Commitment and Excellence nominations and awards, and Gold and Amethyst Public Sector Leadership awards from the Institute of Public Administration of Canada.

Melissa was Co-Chair of the inaugural Hospital Advisory Committee, comprised of membership from the ministry, the Ontario Hospital Association and the Local Health Integration Networks and also has sat on the boards of MaRS EXCITE and Health Quality Ontario. She is currently a Board Member of the Ontario Hospital Association.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Philosophy and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning (with a focus on healthcare planning), both from Queen's University. Melissa has completed additional training at the Harvard Business School, Ivy Business School, Rotman School of Management and Ontario Public Service Leadership.

Jason Michaud is an experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and services industry. Skilled in Computer Science, Customer Experience, and Strategic Planning.

Mr. Michaud is a strong business development professional, with passion in entrepreneurship and the business marketing world. Mr. Michaud been the Chief Executive Officer, President, and Founder of Stardust Technologies and Tech Galaxy with over 10 years of entrepreneurship and business development internationally.

Mr. Michaud studied at Collège Boréal in Computer Engineering and is a Certified Practitioner for CyberSecurity Certification (CPCSC) by Watsec Cyber Risk Management.

Mr. Michaud as established multiple international innovation projects with universities and partners cross the world, and has worked in collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency and the National Research Council of Canada on the EDEN project towards creating a solution utilizing virtual reality, neural systems, haptics feedback in Lunar, Martian, and Micro gravity environments to help astronauts cope with their mental health during their time on the International Space Station, space habitats and space exploration.

Mr. Michaud has also been very active in the community of Cochrane Ontario, by being a Director on the Cochrane Board of Trade and Centre de Formation for multiple years. Mr. Michaud has brought the technology, aerospace, and defence industries to his community and is working building economic growth for the region in these sectors.

Dr. Leyla Soleymani received her PhD from University of Toronto in 2010 in Electrical and Computer Engineering and joined McMaster University in 2011.

Dr. Soleymani is currently an Associate Professor in the Departments of Engineering Physics and Biomedical Engineering at McMaster and is a University Scholar and the Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Miniaturized Biomedical Devices.

Dr. Soleymani’s research is focused on developing technologies for rapid disease diagnostics and health monitoring, as well as solutions for reducing the spread of infectious diseases.

Dr. Soleymani was awarded the Ontario Early Researcher Award in 2016, the Engineering Innovation of the Year Award by the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers in 2020, and the grand prize for Tech Brief’s Create the Future Contest in 2020 for her work on biosensors and biointerfaces.

Dr. Soleymani has over 60 high-impact publications and holds several patents in the areas of biosensing and biointerfaces with multiple diagnostics technologies licensed to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Title of talk: Advanced Materials for Improving Healthcare

Richard L. Hughson is the Schlegel Research Chair in Vascular Aging and Brain Health in the Schlegel-University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging, a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and the recipient of the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal. He is the PI of 6 experiments selected for research on ISS. His research is exploring underlying mechanisms for the accelerated “aging-like” changes in the cardiovascular systems of astronauts using tools such as ultrasound investigations and oral glucose tolerance testing in space. Back on Earth, he studies the impact of increased arterial stiffness on brain blood flow and why older persons experience dizziness and increased risk of falling.

Title of talk: Astronaut Cardiovascular Health in Space: Parallels with Aging on Earth

Annie works at the Canadian Space Agency with the Operational Space Medicine group. She is the portfolio manager for the Health Beyond initiative, which aims at identifying and developing innovative health solutions for deep space missions as well as establishing partnerships that engage on the synergies between terrestrial and space healthcare challenges for the benefit of all Canadians, especially medically-isolated populations. She is involved in strategic and management activities such as engagement with the innovation ecosystem and remote health stakeholders, collaboration with international and national partners, technology development and demonstration. Annie holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering from Polytechnique Montreal.

Title of talk: Healthcare Beyond the Horizon

Cameron Dickinson has worked in optics for over 20 years, recently as the technical lead for both replacement cameras on Canadarm2 and the OSIRIS REx Laser Altimeter. He is currently coordinating MDA efforts with external Artificial Intelligence partners, and is architecting the vision systems on Canadarm3.

Title of Talk: Surveying one of the oldest objects in our solar system: Asteroid Bennu

For over 20 years, Mr. McIsaac has worked to support technology development and commercialization in Canada.  He holds a BASc and an MASc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Waterloo.  He was the 2001 Martin Walmsley Fellowship Award winner, supporting the foundation of his first spinoff company to commercialize the technology developed in his graduate work.  From there he went on to found 2 other startups, advised 5 more, and holds 2 patents for microelectronics materials. 

Mr. McIsaac spent 5 years as a Senior Manager at Deloitte, consulting with a wide range of companies in R&D, from the smallest garage startups to the largest multi-nationals, and in diverse fields including advanced manufacturing, biotech, IT, and cyber security.  He joined Mohawk College in 2016 to lead the Additive Manufacturing Innovation Centre where he partnered with over 50 small and medium sized companies to explore the impact of additive manufacturing in their business.  He went on to serve as Mohawk’s Dean of Applied Research for 3 years, during which time the IDEAWORKS team was awarded the Bronze Medal for Excellence in Applied Research by Colleges and Institutes Canada. 

He is currently Mohawk’s Dean of Engineering Technology and Aviation. 

Title of Talk: The Importance of Risk Tolerance in the Race for Innovation.

Dr. Karolina Papera Valente is the CEO & CSO at VoxCell BioInnovation. Karolina is also an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Departments at the University of Victoria. She has a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. Her Ph.D. was focused on engineering breast cancer tissue models and on the development of targeted delivery systems to the tumor area. Dr. Valente has extensive experience in tissue engineering, drug delivery systems, 3D bioprinting, and in vitro models. She is also passionate about research, teaching, and science. She is a strong advocate for gender equity and women in STEM. 

Title of Talk: Human-like Vascularized Cancer Tissue Models

Annie works at the Canadian Space Agency with the Operational Space Medicine group. She is the portfolio manager for the Health Beyond initiative, which aims at identifying and developing innovative health solutions for deep space missions as well as establishing partnerships that engage on the synergies between terrestrial and space healthcare challenges for the benefit of all Canadians, especially medically-isolated populations. She is involved in strategic and management activities such as engagement with the innovation ecosystem and remote health stakeholders, collaboration with international and national partners, technology development and demonstration. Annie holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering from Polytechnique Montreal.

Title of talk: Healthcare Beyond the Horizon

Cameron Dickinson has worked in optics for over 20 years, recently as the technical lead for both replacement cameras on Canadarm2 and the OSIRIS REx Laser Altimeter. He is currently coordinating MDA efforts with external Artificial Intelligence partners, and is architecting the vision systems on Canadarm3.

Title of Talk: Surveying one of the oldest objects in our solar system: Asteroid Bennu

For over 20 years, Mr. McIsaac has worked to support technology development and commercialization in Canada.  He holds a BASc and an MASc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Waterloo.  He was the 2001 Martin Walmsley Fellowship Award winner, supporting the foundation of his first spinoff company to commercialize the technology developed in his graduate work.  From there he went on to found 2 other startups, advised 5 more, and holds 2 patents for microelectronics materials. 

Mr. McIsaac spent 5 years as a Senior Manager at Deloitte, consulting with a wide range of companies in R&D, from the smallest garage startups to the largest multi-nationals, and in diverse fields including advanced manufacturing, biotech, IT, and cyber security.  He joined Mohawk College in 2016 to lead the Additive Manufacturing Innovation Centre where he partnered with over 50 small and medium sized companies to explore the impact of additive manufacturing in their business.  He went on to serve as Mohawk’s Dean of Applied Research for 3 years, during which time the IDEAWORKS team was awarded the Bronze Medal for Excellence in Applied Research by Colleges and Institutes Canada. 

He is currently Mohawk’s Dean of Engineering Technology and Aviation. 

Title of Talk: The Importance of Risk Tolerance in the Race for Innovation.

Dr. Karolina Papera Valente is the CEO & CSO at VoxCell BioInnovation. Karolina is also an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Departments at the University of Victoria. She has a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. Her Ph.D. was focused on engineering breast cancer tissue models and on the development of targeted delivery systems to the tumor area. Dr. Valente has extensive experience in tissue engineering, drug delivery systems, 3D bioprinting, and in vitro models. She is also passionate about research, teaching, and science. She is a strong advocate for gender equity and women in STEM. 

Title of Talk: Human-like Vascularized Cancer Tissue Models

Dr. Claudia Krywiak, is President and CEO at Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI), a not-for-profit organization that works with industry, government, and academia to accelerate the commercialization and adoption of new technologies.

Since joining OCI in 2011, Dr. Krywiak has championed innovation as a key driver of competitiveness, productivity, and economic growth. She has led the development and deployment of large-scale strategic initiatives that brought together multiple levels of government, post-secondary institutions, anchor firms, and start-ups to fuel growth in emerging technology areas, including artificial intelligence, autonomous and electric vehicles, 5G and next generation networks, cybersecurity, and clean technologies.

Prior to joining OCI, Dr. Krywiak held the position of Vice President, Business Development at Mitacs, a national research organization that funds research and training programs. Dr. Krywiak started her career at Bruker Corporation, a world-leading manufacturer of scientific instruments for molecular research and industrial analysis.

Dr. Krywiak serves on the Boards of Directors for IBI Group and Waterloo’s Accelerator Centre.

She received a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Toronto.

Title of Talk: Where Next Happens

Imran Gulamhussein is part of a team of researchers at McMaster University's Remote Sensing Laboratory that examine global change effects.  Some examples of their work include analyzing the consequences of climate change and investigating the atmospheric effects caused by the Carbon Cycle.

Most recently, the laboratory has published work on developing a Carbon storage map that estimates the total amount of Carbon in Canada - a computation unmeasurable by using other ways due to reasons such as a lack of accessibility to remote areas.

Imran’s current research involves monitoring and building a time-scale model of the migratory patterns of Ontario’s most destructive invasive species and conducting a Canada-wide analysis of insects to better understand disturbance patterns and mitigation strategies.

Title of Talk:  Mapping the earth from space: Using satellite imagery and machine learning to monitor ecological change.

Dr. Claudia Krywiak, is President and CEO at Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI), a not-for-profit organization that works with industry, government, and academia to accelerate the commercialization and adoption of new technologies.

Since joining OCI in 2011, Dr. Krywiak has championed innovation as a key driver of competitiveness, productivity, and economic growth. She has led the development and deployment of large-scale strategic initiatives that brought together multiple levels of government, post-secondary institutions, anchor firms, and start-ups to fuel growth in emerging technology areas, including artificial intelligence, autonomous and electric vehicles, 5G and next generation networks, cybersecurity, and clean technologies.

Prior to joining OCI, Dr. Krywiak held the position of Vice President, Business Development at Mitacs, a national research organization that funds research and training programs. Dr. Krywiak started her career at Bruker Corporation, a world-leading manufacturer of scientific instruments for molecular research and industrial analysis.

Dr. Krywiak serves on the Boards of Directors for IBI Group and Waterloo’s Accelerator Centre.

She received a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Toronto.

Title of Talk: Where Next Happens

Imran Gulamhussein is part of a team of researchers at McMaster University's Remote Sensing Laboratory that examine global change effects.  Some examples of their work include analyzing the consequences of climate change and investigating the atmospheric effects caused by the Carbon Cycle.

Most recently, the laboratory has published work on developing a Carbon storage map that estimates the total amount of Carbon in Canada - a computation unmeasurable by using other ways due to reasons such as a lack of accessibility to remote areas.

Imran’s current research involves monitoring and building a time-scale model of the migratory patterns of Ontario’s most destructive invasive species and conducting a Canada-wide analysis of insects to better understand disturbance patterns and mitigation strategies.

Title of Talk:  Mapping the earth from space: Using satellite imagery and machine learning to monitor ecological change.